Woody Allen Accused of Sexual Assault

The known film director and long time comedian, Woody Allen, was accused of sexual assault by his adopted daughter Saturday January 2. Dylan Farrow, 28, gave a detailed account of how Allen had sexually assaulted her at age seven. Through a letter posted to a New York Times blog, Farrow openly discussed the sexual assault and told Nicholas Kristof, a columnist, that she felt inclined to finally speak out about the 1992 assault after Hollywood’s continual embrace of Allen and his work. This all came to light while Allen was attending The Writers Guild Awards where he had been nominated for his work on Blue Jasmine, which is a critically acclaimed piece that is also up for three Academy Awards.

In the letter that was posted Saturday, Farrow gives a shockingly thorough account of the sexual assault. According to the New York Daily, Farrow told the public that in 1992, in their Connecticut home, Allen took her by the hand and walked her up to a, “dim, closet-like attic” where he requested that Farrow lay on her stomach and play with her brothers train set while he sexually abused her. She reported that Allen talked to her during the sexual assault and told her that she was a good girl and that he would take her to Paris where she would star in his movies. Likewise, she states there were other times when he would get into bed with her and place his head on her naked lap while breathing in and out. Farrow states, “For as long as I can remember” her adoptive father had done things to her that she just thought were normal. She wrote that these things happened often and went unseen and purposefully hidden from her mother, whom Farrow believes if she had known her mother would have protected her from such events.

Farrow believes that Allen is a living testament of how sexual assault among the rich and famous can easily go unnoticed. Dylan Farrow, who is the daughter of divorced Mia Farrow and Woody Allen, has accused him of sexual assault before. These sexual assault allegations first arose in 1992, but Allen has always denied such claims and to this day maintains his innocence. At this time and concerning these recent allegations, Allen has made no statement, and according to CNN News, Allen’s representatives would not respond for a comment after the Saturday news hit the public’s ear.

According to Boston.com, Allen was in fact under investigation in Connecticut for the molestation of Dylan Farrow in 1992. However, the prosecution chose to not charge Allen. This investigation is said to have been highly criticized after Frank S. Maco, Litchfield’s County state attorney, stated in a press conference that he had believed that Allen had in fact molested Farrow. Maco also stated that he chose to not charge Allen due to the fact that would have put Farrow (at the time seven) into a traumatic trial for such a young girl. In 2003, Maco retired, but when asked whether he thought Allen would be prosecuted again for the recent allegations, he stated that the statute of limitations on Farrow’s accusations had run out about fifteen years prior. He also expressed hopes of Farrow being able to have access to that press conference, and hoped she had found a sense of peace.

A spokesperson for the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice told Boston.com that the prosecution’s office cannot be re-opened unless requested to do so. As far as the current allegation, it is yet to be seen what will transpire after Farrow’s publicized letter. However, it is certain that Woody Allen has yet again been publicly accused of sexual assault by his adopted daughter.